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Toyota Prado Long Term Review - 36 months. |
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36 Month UpdateMay 2009 This update is long overdue due to other projects so here it is. The Prado hasn't done too many kilometers due to high petrol prices (2007 & 2008) and less requirement to use this car for transporting stuff. Or rather computers have gotten smaller. In terms of mechanical reliability - nothing has so far broken down or needed replacement. Although brakes pads may need to be replaced. The suspension is getting softer too so the body tends to lean more in corners. The handling I don't think has changed too much despite the softer suspension then again you don't take the corners too fast anyway. Off road the suspension still works as well as ever and isolates the cabin very well. Exterior trim has lasted quite well too. The head light plastics are still clear. The rubber coated side steps and window trim have faded slightly but nothing out of the ordinary compared to other cars. In terms of interior durability, the seats still look new. The plastics haven't deteriorated and there are only one or two marks. The leather on the steering wheel have held up well. However a few plastic rattles have appeared in the overhead sunglass holder and the lid on the armrest squeaks if you rest your hand too heavily on it. Nothing that some adjusting wouldn't get rid off. We are impressed that there are no dashboard rattles that have occurred in prior cars. Fuel consumption is still a steady 14-15 liters when traveling in city environments. The engine has become noticeably free revving compared to a new Prado. As for tyre wear on the Cooper ATRs. Well, they are lasting very well. More than 1/2 the tyre tread is still left after 40,000kms. But I do think that they are making more noise than new - which is entirely expected for obvious reasons.
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When you drive other cars you get an appreciation of what is good about car and what isn't. It is not often that you get in a car and say that this is a must have - it hasn't happened here either. It takes time to appreciate the better parts of any car. Every car is appreciated by someone no matter how bad (for what ever reason) it is. On this context the Prado is completely inoffensive to own and drive. Only those who are anti-4wd would object - but they have their own issues. In normal daily commuter drives it handles as well as any other modern car on the road. I would go as far to say that it actually understeers LESS than most. However when pushed hard it ultimately handles only as well as any passenger car made in the 1990s so there's about a 10 year handling gap if your trying to speed round corners and the like. The body roll and brakes are the main causes of the handling short fall. It is not a race car its a commuter. But as for refinement and livability it is state of the art and better than almost anything you'll try. For example driving the latest Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon your rear vision is just as if not more restricted despite being lower and the rear mirrors are still too small. Forward vision is fine just like the Prado. Handling feel was certainly an improvement as expected but not as obvious as you'd expect. It definitely does not show on the road during commuting drives. Comfort was good and build quality too. I guess I'd be happy to own one of these too in that regard. However issues on the other cars like weird warning light for the engine and frayed cords made it not a convincing choice at this time. The engine vibe and fuel consumption of over 15 litres per hundred for the week didn't help. Maybe because it was the 'sportier' Commodore SV6 version. The Falcon XR6 didn't have any problems for the week and probably the better one to get it used less fuel at about 13-14 litres - it just felt better regardless. Since the car is out of warranty we have reached the point of deciding whether it is worth keeping for a few more years or to trade it in for something else. As you can tell by the recent updates to the site we've been looking that the competitors! A number of factors have lead us to the final
decision:
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